Optic's Guide to Forum Posting

OK, this is driving me nuts. If I see one more 3 sentence definition trying to pass itself off as a post, I think I'm gonna lose my mind.

It's obvious to me that there is some horrible company(s) out there (not)training people to spam forums. It causes my blood pressure to rise, and wastes the valuable time of moderators. The thing these people don't realize, is that they will never get a signature on any forum worth spending time on with these posts, which is the whole reason they are doing it.

I want to help. I know that you are just trying to make a living just like anyone else. You likely took a job doing this, with little to no training at all. I get it. Hopefully this post will help you to do so without annoying the hell out of those of us who are here to actually contribute and learn.

What you need to realize, ESPECIALLY on SEO forums, is that everyone here knows your game. It's completely transparent, and we hate it. I will pass out negative rep and spam reports all day (ok, not really ALL day) if it helps clean up a forum I like, such as the one you are reading right now.

Follow these simple rules, and you will not annoy anyone, and maybe even earn a signature, and enough trust from moderators to put links in posts. If you do not heed this, and just continue with your blatent spamming, you are likely to get your account banned, and lose your job. None of us want that, so keep reading.

RULE #1 - Read the Rules before posting.

Every forum has it's little differences in what is acceptable. Some of these are written in the rules. These are sometimes in the agreement you sign (electronic signature) when you set up your account, sometimes they are stickied in the top of each sub forum.

RULE #2 - Read the thread before posting.

We can tell when you didn't even read the original post (OP), or missed a critical reply that changed the conversation. In order to contribute, you need to know what he thread is about. Nobody is looking for a definition of whatever is being discussed. What's more, if you are doing this, you probably don't have a good grasp of the subject anyway. JUST READ THE THREAD.

RULE #3 - Don't try to fake a signature with links.

Moderators and members alike know how many posts it takes to earn a sig. You aren't fooling anyone with your pseudo signature. This is one of the best ways to get yourself banned. Earn your signature with quality posts.

RULE #4 - A post contains questions, information, or opinions.

Don't hit that reply button if you don't have anything to offer. Saying "Great Thread" or "Thanks for the info" doesn't qualify. Neither does a summary definition of the subject. This is garbage. Offer VALUE of some sort, whether it's a question, a funny comment, or a response to a reply.

RULE #5 - Don't ask when you get your signature.

It's a dead giveaway. If you can't find the number of posts required for a sig, just keep making quality posts. You will earn it. Asking about it, especially in a thread, just notifies everyone that you are just there for a sig link, and will earn you a bad reputation and special attention from moderators.

RULE #6 - Don't try to get your signature in one day.

This isn't a hard rule, as moderators will have no problem with it if you make high quality posts, but this isn't usually the case. Most forums just don't have enough threads to reasonably make enough good posts in one day. This forum is an exception, with many members and threads to participate with.

RULE #7 - Don't bump very old threads.

There comes a point in the life of a thread that it get's buried, and should stay that way. Finding some old thread to reply on is often a clue that you are just working on your post count. It's likely that the original poster of the thread has already solved the problem, answered the question, or the discussion is just old news to most members. Find a new thread, or start one with some substance that people can participate in.

RULE #8 - Try to use decent grammar.

You don't need to be perfect, or a real wordsmith, but at least try to use the language of the forum you are posting on well. Many forums are English, because it's the language of business. It would behoove you to at least learn about plurals. Many of the people who need this guide are from different countries, such as India (not picking on you, but it's the vast majority of forum spammers), where English is not the first language. Most people who speak English well pick up on this right away. Misuse of plurals and no stop words make it difficult to understand your posts. Just at least make an effort. The better you can write in English, the better you will be at your job.

RULE #9 - Use a handle, not a keyword for your username.

Your username is the very first thing anyone will notice about you. It's also a link to your forum profile, which likely contains a link to your website. This is not to be abused. A username like "BuyViagraOnline", or "AwesomeBlueWidgets" is blatent spam. Pick a handle, you are not your URL, or product. This goes for the blog comment spam you are likely doing as well.

This is all I can think of right now. Hopefully you will follow my advice, and take the time to really contribute for your links. Failing to understand these concepts ensures that you will eventually get banned, and will have wasted your time. I know forum Admins that will band entire IP blocks from certain countries to avoid wasting too much time dealing with forum spam.

Hey, maybe if you do these things, you will even learn something or make friends. That's what forums are for after all.

Last edited by weegillis; 01-14-2011 at 03:14 PM.
Reason: merged rule 9 from later post

You know I think there are three of us senior members here that don't wan't to be a moderator if we were asked. Independence is more important to us then becoming a moderator. I can only speak for myself. I will never be a moderator on this forum, because I have my own forums to moderate. If I were asked to become a member of the Admin staff I should think of it. There are moderators that need moderation.

Originally Posted by Optic

The better you can write in English, the better you will be at your job.

Be very careful with that for the following reasons:

With 40 years experience in the IT business I have noted that many IT persons and mathematicians are bad writers.

The message of foreigners with another mother tongue is more important than proper language.

In addition I will add one rule from one of my two forums:

10. Again this is a professional forum. You may be banned for a week or longer if we have strong evidence that you have a hidden agenda and do not express your professional meaning on a subject. Trying to flatter moderators and site admins is an obvious example of a hidden agenda.

You know I think there are three of us senior members here that don't wan't to be a moderator if we were asked. Independence is more important to us then becoming a moderator. I can only speak for myself. I will never be a moderator on this forum, because I have my own forums to moderate. If I were asked to become a member of the Admin staff I should think of it. There are moderators that need moderation.

Be very careful with that for the following reasons:

With 40 years experience in the IT business I have noted that many IT persons and mathematicians are bad writers.

The message of foreigners with another mother tongue is more important than proper language.

.

No way. They don't want me as a moderator. I'm kind of a jerk. Also, I don't think I could stomach it.

Regarding the bad writers and languages, this guide is meant for the professional forum posters hired to earn signatures. The people you describe are likely decent contributors anyway. I don't think anyone really cares if a person providing good information has bad grammar as long as it's readable. It's these sig hunters with marginal posts that need some help in my opinion. Folks from India get picked on alot for this, due to the SEO industry presence there, but I have seen some very knowledgeable Indian SEO's making great posts. It's too bad they have an uphill battle for credibility in some areas due to their countrymen giving them a bad name.

In my mind, the issue stems from people with no experience on the web being hired to post on forums for links. The have little to no training, and not a clue about just how transparent their activities are to those who know the game. If I can convince a few of them to actually contribute, I have done a good thing, possibly even helped them keep their jobs, while cleaning up the forum a little with some education.

We can't stop them from coming here to post for links, but maybe we can help them do it in a way that doesn't waste everyones time cleaning up after them.

Folks from India get picked on alot for this, due to the SEO industry presence there, but I have seen some very knowledgeable Indian SEO's making great posts. It's too bad they have an uphill battle for credibility in some areas due to their countrymen giving them a bad name.

The same with people from other countries. E. G. There are many knowledgeable people in Eastern Europe. Welcome them to my forums (delete part of the post if it is regarded as self promotion) if they can

Read the forum rules.

Post in the correct sub forum.

I am also looking for moderators outside the Christian world. I have one moderator from Pakistan. WPW's Tubby is a moderator on one for my forums, but he may have forgotten it, and there is not much activity there, since the forum is so strictly moderated by me. It is very fast to delete posts. Do I have bots to moderate for me?

I read all of the above posting guide or rule before posting. Yesterday i replied different posts but today i didn't find any of my comment in this forum. My my posts are deleted if i didn't break any rule ? Can any one tell me ?